[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spacetitanicspf0.jpg]][[caption-width-right:250:[[http://community.livejournal.com/doctorwhy/70795.html Not the regular Titanic, but three of the several spaceship ones.]]]]

As has been established, SpaceIsAnOcean, and in fiction, naval and maritime terms are often applied to spaceships. Some works, however, take things further, and make their characters go Space Sailing on literal ships [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]! The reason for this? The RuleOfCool, and nothing else.

While, in RealLife, there are proposals for spacecraft with {{solar sail}}s, that's a different concept. Those would be spacecraft-with-sails but otherwise designed like any other spacecraft; these are literal oceangoing-type ''boats'' in space, with all the shape and features that implies.

A subtrope of this is the idea of a space ''Titanic'', an oddly common meme. [[WhatDidYouExpectWhenYouNamedIt They are invariably doomed.]]

Interestingly, Space Ships don't go after {{Space Whale}}s as often as you might think. They are quite likely to house SpacePirates, though.

----!!Examples:

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* Particularly abundant in the Leijiverse--the anachronistic vehicles are partially what give the shows their charm.** ''UchuuSenkanYamato'' takes place aboard a risen-from-the seas and retrofitted-for-space WorldWarII battleship Yamato.** ''CaptainHarlock'' has both SpaceSailing and Space Trains! Not only does Harlock's ''Arcadia'' appear to have the back-end of a galley, she can effectively function as a submarine.* The anime ''NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' has none other than Captain Nemo take a Yamato-esque New Nautilus into space to battle a gigantic Atlantaean Flying Saucer named Red Noah. The scene in which the New Nautilus first breaks free of the ground it is imprisoned in is a direct and clear homage to the similar scene in the aforementioned Yamato.* The anime ''Odin: Photon Space Sailor Starlight'' begins with a scene showing lots of futuristic ships plying the spaceways -- then brings on its master stroke, a new, better space ship, which is... a wooden sailing ship, complete with decks and rigging and masts and such.* ''SpaceCarrierBlueNoah'', AKA ''Thundersub''.* The Hyper Galaxy Dai-Gurren from ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' looks much like a ''HUGE'' aircraft carrier.** As does the Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross, and the ''Rugger Guard" from Anime/DairuggerXV. (Known to U.S. audiences as Vehicle {{Voltron}}.)* Had Creator/ToeiAnimation accepted the [[WesternAnimation/ToonMakersSailorMoon Toon Makers bid]] for remaking ''Anime/SailorMoon'' (in the infamous "Saban Moon"), instead of Creator/DiC's dubbing, Americans would have gotten the Sailor Senshi battling evil by going sailing in space... on space-windsurfers... involving fights with such ships.* ''SolBianca'' revolves around a space "submarine", which "dives" and "surfaces" to enter and leave its cloaking effect.* ''CrossboneGundam'' has the Mother Vanguard, which has broadside beam cannons, a sail that mounts more cannon plus missiles and a high-speed flight system, and a masthead statue of a woman made of gold. This fits with the series' general pirate aesthetic, even if the ship was built before the heroes decided to become {{Space Pirate}}s.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Fairwind This]] article is about a ''wooden-hulled'' starship from a ''StarWars'' comic.* Jason Aaron's ''[[TheMightyThor Thor: God of Thunder]]'' run features Thors from the past, present, and future sailing through the heavens together in a Viking longboat named Skithblathnir. Gorgeous art, plus [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial space sharks]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]* The Fhloston Paradise hotel in ''Film/TheFifthElement'' actually does double as both a space and a (hovering-just-above-the-) sea vessel. It looks like a futuristic version of a steam paddle boat. The steam-stacks, however, may be just for show -- it is a luxury toy meant for the amusement of rich tourists, after all.* In the movie version of ''WesternAnimation/BraveStarr'', Bravestarr and JB travel on a spaceship with sails, which has leather couches, huge picture windows, and shelves of paper books. * There is a B-Movie called ''Film/MessageFromSpace'', which has this very thing, but takes it to the extreme. These space sailors are wooden Renaissance-era ships! Oh, and it also includes HumongousMecha, PlanetLooters, SpacePirates, and even a planet with ''rocket engines''! Also has a musket-toting [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot droid]].* [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney's]] ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'' takes this to the extreme, with a 70/30 blend of 18th century ships combined with technology. It works quite well.* ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'' featured the Axiom, a "Starliner" with a design evoking that of a sea-going cruise ship.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In Creator/JohnRingo and Travis S. Taylor's ''Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass'' series, the Human-Adar Alliance's first warp ship is a converted Ohio class ballistic missile submarine, the USS ''Nebraska'' (SSBN-739), and is mostly crewed by US Navy personnel who primarily use naval terminology except where the third dimension is involved.* In Philip Reeve's ''Literature/{{Larklight}}'' novels, the [[RecycledINSPACE star]] [[SteamPunk ships]] are nothing more than Victorian sailing vessels with [[MagiTek alchemical]] engines.* In Leo Frankowski's ''The Two Space War'', Hyperspace is literally two dimensional, and spaceships are sailing ships made of wood infested with an alien fungus.* A follow-on novella to DavidDrake's ''Literature/RanksOfBronze'', "Delenda Est Carthago" by EricFlint features the newly created space navy of Terra, based on stolen [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum technology]] brought back to 21st century Earth by the survivors of Crassus' Roman legions. Said technology included a warp drive and DeflectorShields which would also work to keep the air in, resulting in humanity's first space fleet consisting of converted submarines, frigates, carriers and battleships, pulled from the waves and into space. The battleship ''Missouri'''s part of the action was particularly reminiscent of ''UchuuSenkanYamato''. There was, however, one ship included in honour of the returned Romans: a restored Roman galley. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny The fleet commander was constantly infuriated by the fact the galley's crew were still rowing]].* David Drake also has the Literature/{{RCN}} series where the ships maneuver through a hyperspace with sails.* In TheBookOfTheNewSun, the spaceships of the Hierodules are described in terms almost identical to nautical vessels, with decks, sails, and rigging. They are almost certainly not supposed to look like nautical ships (for example, Tzadkiel's ship has a series of decks all around the ship, rather than deck, sides and keel) but the reader must struggle to escape that impression given Severian's habit of not drawing distinction between nautical and space-going ships.* Michael J. Martinez's ''[[Literature/TheDaedalusSeries]]'' is set in an AlternateHistory where an [[{{Alchemy}} alchemical invention]] made in the late 15th century allows ordinary sailing ships to fly through space. The story follows the adventures of an 18th century British naval officer who is employed on a perfectly ordinary wooden, sail-driven frigate -- that happens to be en route to the planet Jupiter.* Although regular spaceships are also seen, the [[SpacePirates pirates]] in ''Literature/MarkDelewenAndTheSpacePirates'' use 18th century style ships.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has not only the new series ChristmasEpisode "[[Recap/DoctorWho2007CSVoyageOfTheDamned Voyage of the Damned]]", one of the aforementioned Space Titanics, but also the 1983 Fifth Doctor serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E5Enlightenment Enlightenment]]", where he and his companions find themselves on board a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Edwardian ship in space, powered via solar sails, which is participating in a race around the planets, along with other such ships from different periods from human history, including a Greek trireme...with ''rowers''.** Voyage of the Damned could be justified, though, since the aliens purposely made it to look like the Titanic, and many other spaceships in the series look nothing like boats. In other words, it doesn't look like a boat because space is an ocean, it looks like a boat because they wanted it to. The aliens, that is, not just the script writers.* ''Series/StarFleet'' gives us the Skull, a space going pirate ship complete with sails.* Gokai Galleon from ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the SpacePirates ''Franchise/SuperSentai''. It's the Red Ranger's mech, the central piece to the CombiningMecha, and transportation (with pretty nice living quarters) for the entire team. * Commander Sisko from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' built a lightship that employed a solar sail for propulsion - Bajorans had even traveled [[FasterThanLightTravel faster than light]] with these contraptions.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* This was the whole point of the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}} setting. In this case, it wasn't interstellar space so much as inter''[[AnotherDimension planar]]'' space. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that the whole thing is done by [[AWizardDidIt magic]]. Also, sails only provide maneuverability -- conventional means of propulsion has the same performance when strapped on almost any object of acceptable size.* The Eldar of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s ships use solar sails for propulsion, which means that if you play as them in the space combat spin-off, ''BattlefleetGothic'', you'll have to keep track of which side of the table is sunward and adjust your movement rates accordingly.** In the regular 40k, Dark Eldar skimmers fit the trope to a T. Especially fifth edition ones released in November 2011.* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': Spaceships discusses solar sails. You can even give space boats wooden hulls if the setting demands it or the characters are incredibly desperate.** One example is the Star Galleon which uses astral sails to move through space and designed to sail on a normal sea.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* The "Oceans Unmoving" storyline in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''. This one wasn't space either, but flying sailing ships in a place outside time itself, which sailed above the frozen oceans of the title.** This one was an interesting variation in that, although the ships' hulls looked like those of sailing ships, they could have masts ''on the bottom'' as well with additional sails.* ''[[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/cousinted/oits/series.php Oceans in the Sky]]'' features, very prominently, a sailing ship capable of space travel as a plot point.* [[spoiler:Grandpa]]'s battleship in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', though The Medium [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace is not exactly space]]. The white and black armies have such ships as well.* In [[http://www.bigheadpress.com/pk Phoebus Krumm]] thanks to "S-fields" starships are open-topped sail ships with no electronics on board. Not really any explanation why they're open aside from the field containing the atmosphere, and it seems like a rather bad idea since the field vaporizes organic matter that comes into contact.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* The Creator/DouglasAdams game/novel ''StarshipTitanic'', one of the aforementioned Space Titanics. This particular ship also got a mention in ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything''.* The {{RPG}} ''RogueGalaxy''.* The airships in ''[[SuperMarioBros Super Mario Galaxy]]''? Usually found in the sky, the game has Bowser's airship fleet flying through space in quite a few of the levels, notably Bowser Jr's Airship Armada.* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' has [[http://wiki.vega-strike.org/Vessel:Hidalgo Hidalgo]]. It's a luxury yacht made by [[FeudalFuture Highborn faction]], so [[UpToEleven extra-extra-fancifulness]] is to be expected. And yes, it's one of SpacePirate ships of choice too.* At least one freighter model in ''TachyonTheFringe'' has a strong resemblance to oceangoing ships.* SinsOfASolarEmpire: Some of the TEC's ships are space liners refitted for combat.* Aetherships in ''{{Lusternia}}'' allow players to fly through [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds aetherspace]]. Since aetherships are customized entirely by the player who owns them, they run the gamut from hi-tech spaceships, to [[CoolAirship airships]], to pirate ships, and even floating stately homes!* In Spore, a space ship can be designed like a boat, jet-ski, submarine, tank, blimp, or a solid cube, and still function the same.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* The ''WesternAnimation/ThreeTwoOnePenguins'' episode "Runaway Pride at Lightstation Kilowatt" featured an entire setup of this, with a giant cargo spaceship and a lighthouse-like beacon that was set up on a beach-like asteroid with energy waves floating off of it.* ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' had this when the candy pirates "modified" their ship for space travel (modifications consisted of an air bubble...thing and engines* ''DuckDodgers'' featured a spaceship designed to look like an eighteenth-century [[SpacePirates pirate ship]] assaulting a spaceship designed to look like a nineteenth-century cruise liner. Also, the Klunkian ([[AlternateCompanyEquivalent not Klingon]]) warship resembles a Viking longship, complete with oars.* ''{{Futurama}}'', the Space Titanic episode "A Flight to Remember". It survived Zapp Brannigan's decision to take it through a field of comets ("Ah, yes, comets, the ice-bergs of the sky!"), but then he had to steer it near "that black-ish, hole-ish thing". Also, a Dark Matter Tanker appears in "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" and a Pirate ship at the beginning of "Godfellas".[[/folder]]----